Yeah
Rio Vane
Zuri Vanta
not FM in the mix
Filodyo
Summer starts right here

Ay
Turn it up turn it up
We outside tonight

Calor de junio
You already know

You came through with the sun on your shoulder
New dress old smile little bit closer
City too hot but you make it colder
When you move like that I lose control yeah

Got your friends in the backseat singing
Windows down whole boulevard listening
No plans just a night worth living
One look and the whole thing switching

Don’t say forever
Just say tonight
Meet me where the music
Touches the sky

I got that feeling
You got that fire
One more step and we’re dancing
Past desire

Calor de junio
Body like a radio
Turn me up don’t let me go
Baila baila slow

Calor de junio
Sunset on your stereo
One kiss and we lose control
Baila baila oh

Ay ay ay
Don’t cool me down
Ay ay ay
Summer starts now

Gold chain white tee you know the story
But you don’t move like the boys before me
You talk sweet but your eyes say more things
I might stay if the night keeps calling

No drama no pressure no questions
Just rhythm bare feet good intentions
If this is trouble I like the direction
You and me look good in reflection

Don’t say forever
Just say tonight
Meet me where the music
Touches the sky

You got that feeling
I got that fire
One more step and we’re dancing
Past desire

Calor de junio
Body like a radio
Turn me up don’t let me go
Baila baila slow

Calor de junio
Sunset on your stereo
One kiss and we lose control
Baila baila oh

Ay ay ay
Don’t cool me down
Ay ay ay
Summer starts now

She don’t need a ticket she’s the destination
He don’t need a reason just imagination
Palm trees moving like they know our names
If we disappear don’t put out the flame

Not tomorrow
Not too late

Right now right here
Let the summer wait

not FM
Filodyo
Zuri tell ’em

Ay ay ay
Move it like the heat is talking
Ay ay ay
No more waiting no more stopping

Calor de junio
Body like a radio
Turn me up don’t let me go
Baila baila slow

Calor de junio
Sunset on your stereo
One kiss and we lose control
Baila baila oh

Calor de junio
Body like a radio
Turn me up don’t let me go
Baila baila slow

Calor de junio
Sunset on your stereo
One kiss and we lose control
Baila baila oh

Ay ay ay
Don’t cool me down

notFM
Filodyo

Summer starts now

One more message then I let it go
No hard feelings just a different road

You send a question past a quarter two
I read it twice but I already knew
We kept a habit long beyond its use
Now every answer feels like an excuse

I don't need a perfect ending
I just need a line that's true

No replay no replay
We can leave it where it changed
No replay no replay
I won't trade my peace for yesterday
Keep the good release the weight
No replay no replay

No no no replay
No no no replay

Friends keep asking if I miss the sound
I miss who I was when you came around
But missing isn't an instruction now
I know the exit and I know it counts

I don't need a perfect ending
I just need a line that's true

No replay no replay
We can leave it where it changed
No replay no replay
I won't trade my peace for yesterday
Keep the good release the weight
No replay no replay

Maybe closure isn't something said
Maybe it's the choice to step ahead
No villain no score no debt to pay
Just two people choosing separate ways

No replay no replay
We can leave it where it changed
No replay no replay
I won't trade my peace for yesterday
Keep the good release the weight
No replay no replay

No hard feelings no replay
I choose peace and walk away

Concrete and dreams underneath my feet
Grew up on these blocks where the cold and the warm meet
Didn't have much but I had this view
Rooftops and water towers skies painted blue
This city raised me made me who I am
Every subway line running through my veins

And I've been down I've been lost in these streets
But every time I fell this city caught me

(mm)

New York New York
I was made from your bones
Every scar on this city
Is a scar that I own
I have loved I have lost
On these streets made of stone
But I always — always
Find my way home

Harlem nights had nothing but a name
Told myself either make it or make it no game
Penthouse dreams from a fire escape view
This city don't love you till you prove something true
I've seen men fold under all this weight
But New York only opens up for those who wait

And I've been cold sleeping on ambition
But this city turned my hunger into vision
(yeah)

New York New York
We were made from your bones
Every scar on this city
Is a scar that we own
We have loved we have lost
On these streets made of stone
But we always — always
Find our way home

(ohhh yeah)
(home…)

They say the city never sleeps
(never sleeps)
But I've seen it quiet
At 4 AM when even the brave weep
(weep…)
And still — the lights stay on
(lights stay on)
And still — we carry on
(carry on…)
Because this city chose us
As much as we chose it
(mm)
Every broken dream here
Still has fire in it
(fire…)
(ohhhh)

New York New York
We were made from your bones
Every scar on this city
Is a scar that we own
(own it)
We have loved we have lost
On these streets made of stone
(these streets)
But we always — always
(always)
Find our way
(find our way)

Home
(HOME)
(ohhhhh)

New York…
(mm)
You never let me go
(never…)
And I never wanted you to
(fade)

Yeah
Almost beautiful

You left your shadow
On the passenger side
Like a quiet ending
At a red street light

I kept the moment
But I lost the weight
Of waiting for something
That was already late

Now days feel lighter
When the hope runs out
I hear my own voice
A little less loud

And I don’t hate you
That takes too much room
I just stopped turning
The sky into you

Maybe we were young
Maybe we were tired
Maybe love got lost
Somewhere in the wires

I don’t need a reason
I don’t need a sign
I just need tonight
To feel like mine

It was almost beautiful
Almost good enough
Almost like a movie
Almost like love

We were almost honest
Almost made it through
Almost had forever
Then forever moved

And I’m not broken
I’m just new
It was almost beautiful
Losing you

Oh-oh
Almost beautiful
Oh-oh
Almost beautiful

I saw your name
On a screen last night
It didn’t hurt me
Like I thought it might

Just a small old feeling
Passing through
Like a song from a car
That never stops for you

I walked for hours
Under changing signs
No big confession
No perfect line

Just a quiet freedom
I never planned
Like letting go
Without using my hands

Maybe we were close
Maybe we were blind
Maybe love looks better
From the other side

I don’t need an answer
I don’t need a fight
I just need my heart
To sleep tonight

It was almost beautiful
Almost good enough
Almost like a movie
Almost like love

We were almost honest
Almost made it through
Almost had forever
Then forever moved

And I’m not broken
I’m just new
It was almost beautiful
Losing you

I won’t call it wasted
I won’t call it wrong
Some people are chapters
That read too long

I won’t make you guilty
I won’t make me small
We were almost something
And that’s something after all

Almost beautiful
Almost true
Almost everything
I wanted with you

Almost beautiful
Almost gone
I can still remember
But I can move on

It was almost beautiful
Almost good enough
Almost like a movie
Almost like love

We were almost honest
Almost made it through
Almost had forever
Then forever moved

And I’m not broken
I’m just new
It was almost beautiful
Losing you

Oh-oh
Almost beautiful
Oh-oh
Almost beautiful

Mm
Almost beautiful
Losing you

Uno viene dal porto
Uno scende dal tram
Una ride da sola
Uno non sa dove va

Ma il tamburo li chiama
Senza chiedere chi sei
Questa sera la strada
Ha più nomi di noi

C’è chi arriva con tre parole
Chi ne porta tremila
Chi cucina sopra un balcone
Chi ripara una bicicletta

C’è una radio dietro una porta
Che trasmette da chissà dove
Una nonna detta la danza
A una banda di ventenni

Il tassista perde il turno
Per seguire quel contrabbasso
Un bambino batte il tempo
Con due cucchiai sopra un piatto

Nessun palco nessun padrone
Nessun posto riservato
Quando il ritmo prende la piazza
Ogni nome viene chiamato

Vieni qua
Non serve sapere perché
Vieni qua
Porta soltanto quello che c’è

Questo è il punto più vivo
Dove tutto fa tum tum
Dove il nord incontra il sud
E nessuno resta più

Questo è il punto più vivo
Mani in alto giù di nuovo
Se la terra gira ancora
Questa notte gira con noi

Tum tum gira con noi
Tum tum gira con noi
Ogni lingua cambia il suono
Ma il battito dice: noi

Una cuoca lascia il grembiule
Per un passo mezzo sbagliato
Un avvocato molto serio
Fa qualcosa mai studiato

Due turisti senza mappa
Hanno perso la prudenza
Una coppia che litigava
Ora balla la stessa frase

C’è chi viene per curiosare
Chi domani deve partire
Chi ha promesso “solo un minuto”
Ed è ancora qui alle tre

Non importa da quale tavolo
Da quale treno o quartiere
Siamo pezzi senza istruzioni
Che funzionano tutti insieme

Vieni qua
Non devi assomigliare a me
Vieni qua
Porta il tuo modo di stare in piedi

Questo è il punto più vivo
Dove tutto fa tum tum
Dove il nord incontra il sud
E nessuno resta più

Questo è il punto più vivo
Mani in alto giù di nuovo
Se la terra gira ancora
Questa notte gira con noi

Tum tum gira con noi
Tum tum gira con noi
Ogni lingua cambia il suono
Ma il battito dice: noi

Dimmi come batti il tempo
Con il palmo o con il mento
Con le scarpe sul cemento
Con un fiato preso al volo

Uno due — non basta ancora
Tre quattro — viene l’aurora
Cinque sei — cambia la storia
Sette miliardi nella stessa gola

Io dico: vicino
Tutti: più vicino

Io dico: più forte
Tutti: fino al mattino

Io dico: chi siamo?
Tutti: quelli che arrivano

Io dico: dove siamo?
Tutti: dove le cose cominciano

Questo è il punto più vivo
Dove tutto fa tum tum
Dove il nord incontra il sud
E nessuno resta più

Questo è il punto più vivo
Ogni passo trova il modo
Se la terra gira ancora
Questa notte gira con noi

Tum tum gira con noi
Tum tum gira con noi
Non c’è un centro sulla carta
Il centro siamo noi

Uno torna verso il porto
Uno aspetta ancora il tram
La mattina prende nota
Di chi non si fermerà

Tum tum
Il centro siamo noi
Tum tum
Il centro siamo noi

You left your scarf on my chair
Cheap red thread and summer air
I still fold it by the door
Like you might come back for more

And I know I know
It was never clean
But your name
Still shakes the seams

Paper cup summer
You still taste like that
Paper cup summer
Gone fast came back
I keep one small match
For the dark you made
Paper cup summer
Won't fade won't fade

Bus stop rain on your shoes
You laughed like you had bad news
In the park under the trees
You said "Don't make a promise to me"

And I know I know
We were shaking hard
Two wild hearts
In a borrowed car

Paper cup summer
You still taste like that
Paper cup summer
Gone fast came back
I keep one small match
For the dark you made
Paper cup summer
Won't fade won't fade

Now the corner store's closed early
The peach gum on your sleeve still hurts me
If I call would you hear my voice?
Or just the noise just the noise

Paper cup summer
You still taste like that
Paper cup summer
Gone fast came back
I keep one small match
For the dark you made
Paper cup summer
Won't fade won't fade

You filed my name under maybe
Kept one hand near delete

Your sentences came pre-approved
Every promise wore a barcode
I read the terms across your face
A firm refusal dressed as grace

You kept my number off the page
Then called it love at your own rate
I learned the cost of being near
A private charge renewed each year

Your figures never could align
You changed the units every time
You took the sum removed the source
Then called the damage normal loss

Call me your margin of error
The number you round to zero
You kept me close to the ledger
But never part of the total

Call me your margin of error
Your almost your after your spare
I won’t be filed under maybe
I won’t be useful then erased

You wore affection like a pass
Valid until somebody asked
My place was marked with pencil lead
Easy to alter hard to read

You built a room from access codes
The door unlocked when you chose
I left the key beside your name
No final speech no claim to blame

Your figures never could align
You changed the units every time
You took the sum removed the source
Then called the damage normal loss

Call me your margin of error
The number you round to zero
You kept me close to the ledger
But never part of the total

Call me your margin of error
Your almost your after your spare
I won’t be filed under maybe
I won’t be useful then erased

I was never hard to measure
You preferred uncertain scales
A person turned to useful data
A pulse reduced to monthly sales

Now every digit has an owner
Every loss can state its cause
You can keep your perfect record
I have left your private laws

Call me your margin of error
The number you rounded to zero
You kept me close to the ledger
But never part of the total

Call me your margin of error
The flaw that refused to behave
Cross out the file marked as maybe
I won’t be useful then erased

Delete my name from your system
The error has learned its own weight

Cut the feed
Leave the meter running
Hold that grin
I came with my own timing

You tried to sell me a cleaner name
With the corners sanded down
Put my laugh in a little glass case
Said “Look who’s stable now”

I don’t fit in your easy chart
I don’t land on command
There’s a tune in my crooked part
You don’t understand

Don’t fix the bend
Don’t mute the spark
I keep my rhythm
Off the mark

No default setting
I tune my own voltage
No default setting
I move when the bass gets bold

You want me simple
You want me folded
I’m not the version
That does what it’s told

No default setting
No clean reset
I’m better when I don’t behave yet

Your golden rule came overdressed
And talked like a magazine
I poured black coffee on the test
Made the paper sing

You said “Be calm be useful now”
I said “Nice little cage”
Then I took my pulse off your clock
And rewrote the page

Don’t trim the heat
Don’t square the sound
I keep my rhythm
Upside down

No default setting
I tune my own voltage
No default setting
I move when the bass gets bold

You want me simple
You want me folded
I’m not the version
That does what it’s told

No default setting
No clean reset
I’m better when I don’t behave yet

Left right
Too bright
Low kick
Uptight

Turn snap
Come back
One more
Off-track

I was never built for your manual
Never born for a numbered lane
Every time you label the motion
Something loose begins to play

Let the clean ones keep their answers
Let the smooth ones win the floor
I have trouble in my timing
And it always asks for more

No default setting
I tune my own voltage
No default setting
I move when the bass gets bold

You want me simple
You want me folded
I’m not the version
That does what it’s told

No default setting
No clean reset
I’m better when I don’t behave yet

Cut the feed
Leave it running
No default
I’m still coming

No hay pupitre ni pizarra mi clase es la ciudad
Cada esquina un maestro cada calle una verdad
Aprendí de los fracasos de la escuela de intentar
Mis diplomas son las cicatrices que el tiempo no borrará

No aprendí de teorías mi saber es práctico
En el arte de vivir cada paso es didáctico

Soy alumno de la vida mi escuela es el mundo entero
Graduado en sobrevivir en cada esquina un sendero
La sabiduría callejera mi título más sincero
Con cada experiencia mi conocimiento es primero

Mis compañeros son los sueños mi tarea la realidad
Cada día una página nueva lista para comenzar
En las plazas hallé libros que no se pueden cerrar
En los ojos de la gente historias que enseñan a amar

No aprendí de teorías mi saber es práctico
En el arte de vivir cada paso es didáctico

Soy alumno de la vida mi escuela es el mundo entero
Graduado en sobrevivir en cada esquina un sendero
La sabiduría callejera mi título más sincero
Con cada experiencia mi conocimiento es primero

Entre sombras aprendí a encontrar la luz
La resiliencia es mi curso la esperanza mi cruz

Soy alumno de la vida mi escuela es el mundo entero
Graduado en sobrevivir en cada esquina un sendero
La sabiduría callejera mi título más sincero
Con cada experiencia mi conocimiento es primero

Cierro los ojos siento el viento cada susurro una lección
En el gran libro de la vida escribo mi propia canción

You showed up late with your hair still wet
Said “don’t ask where I’ve been”
I had two cold drinks and a nervous smile
You had trouble on your skin

We left our phones in the corner booth
Ran out before the bill
You said “I know a road where the city ends”
I said “show me I will”

And I don’t know
Where this thing is going
But your hand’s in mine
And the night keeps rolling

You say my name
Like a song you’re learning
Then you pull me close
And the whole street’s turning

So let’s run into summer
Like we don’t know better
Heartbeats loud
In the hot bad weather

You and me
Getting gone together
If we fall too fast
We can blame it on forever

Run run
Into the blue
I don’t need a plan
When I’m running with you

Run run
Like lovers do
I don’t need the world
I just need one more minute with you

You kicked your shoes off by the seaside bar
Danced on the pavement line
I tried to act like I didn’t care
But I was losing my mind

You stole my cap I stole your look
We were laughing too loud
Somebody played that old guitar
And you sang to the crowd

And I don’t know
If this is a warning
But your eyes say stay
Till the blue of morning

You say my name
Like you mean it maybe
Then you smile like that
And the night goes crazy

So let’s run into summer
Like we don’t know better
Heartbeats loud
In the hot bad weather

You and me
Getting gone together
If we fall too fast
We can blame it on forever

Run run
Into the blue
I don’t need a plan
When I’m running with you

Run run
Like lovers do
I don’t need the world
I just need one more minute with you

Oh-oh-oh
One more minute with you
Oh-oh-oh
One more minute with you

**[Bridge - Half Time]**
Maybe September comes too soon
Maybe this all disappears
Maybe we’re just two hearts
Making too much noise out here

But I don’t wanna slow down
I don’t wanna be right
I just wanna keep you
For the rest of tonight

So let’s run into summer
Like we don’t know better
Heartbeats loud
In the hot bad weather

You and me
Getting gone together
If we fall too fast
We can blame it on forever

Run run
Into the blue
I don’t need a plan
When I’m running with you

Run run
Like lovers do
I don’t need the world
I just need one more minute with you

Oh-oh-oh
One more minute with you
Oh-oh-oh
Run into summer with you

Glass on the shoreline
Silver on skin
The night keeps folding
As the rhythm pulls us in
Every street is breathing slower
Windows shimmer then disappear
You don't have to say forever
You're already here
One more step
One more spark
One more pulse across the dark

No destination
Only motion
Floating where the bass begins

Higher
Take me where the skyline bends
Higher
Nothing has to make sense
We move
Like the tide beneath the light
Higher
Till tomorrow loses sight

Dust rises softly
Under every heel
Ancient echoes
Wrapped in something new and real
Hands cut circles through the silence
Every heartbeat shifts its place
No one owns this second
No one leaves a trace
The air keeps turning
Round and round
Every shadow finds a sound

No gravity
No history
Just the rhythm underneath
We don't chase the sunrise
We become the color
One breath
One horizon
Nothing louder

Higher
Lift the night above the ground
Higher
Feel the silence singing loud
We move
Where the desert meets the sea
Higher
You and the frequency
Higher
Only the frequency

Sept heures douze le réveil insiste
Je négocie encore quatre minutes
Le chat me regarde comme une huissière
Il connaît déjà toutes mes excuses

Une chaussette noire une chaussette bleue
Je déclare que c’est volontaire
Le pain a brûlé pendant que je lisais
Un message marqué « très prioritaire »

Dans l’ascenseur Madame Lefèvre
Me raconte son ficus malade
Je hoche la tête avec gravité
Comme une spécialiste des salades

J’avais prévu d’être impeccable
Organisée presque admirable
Mais le mardi connaît mon adresse
Et vient toujours semer le désordre

La vie c’est souvent de travers
Un bus raté des pâtes trop cuites
Un grand discours dans ma tête
Puis « oui bien sûr » quand on m’invite

La vie c’est rarement comme prévu
Mais franchement tant mieux peut-être
Je perds mes clés je gagne une histoire
Et ça suffit pour tenir debout

À dix heures trente réunion d’équipe
Quelqu’un partage trente-six tableaux
Je dessine un poisson sur mon carnet
Il a l’air plus compétent que nous

À midi Sonia commande léger
Puis vole la moitié de mes frites
Elle dit : « Ça ne compte pas vraiment
Quand ça vient de l’assiette d’une copine »

Le serveur oublie mon dessert
Je décide que c’est philosophique
Certaines choses arrivent en retard
D’autres jamais et c’est très pratique

J’avais prévu d’être raisonnable
De répondre vite d’être joignable
Mais mon téléphone tombe à trois pour cent
Et soudain le monde se débrouille

La vie c’est souvent de travers
Un bus raté des pâtes trop cuites
Un grand discours dans ma tête
Puis « oui bien sûr » quand on m’invite

La vie c’est rarement comme prévu
Mais franchement tant mieux peut-être
Je perds mes clés je gagne une histoire
Et ça suffit pour tenir debout

Dix-neuf heures six petite supérette
Je prends du lait des tomates du savon
Je repars avec un ananas
Et sans aucune explication

Le caissier demande si j’ai la carte
Je réponds oui puis cherche longtemps
Derrière moi personne ne soupire
C’est probablement un miracle local

Chez moi je cuisine en musique
Le chat refuse toute participation
Je mange debout près de l’évier
Comme une reine sans administration

On nous apprend les grandes décisions
Les beaux départs les lendemains utiles
Mais personne ne parle assez souvent
Du bonheur discret d’annuler un dîner

D’enlever ses chaussures trop tôt
De rire seule pour une phrase idiote
De trouver au fond d’un vieux sac
Le bonbon qu’on croyait disparu

La vie c’est souvent de travers
Un rendez-vous puis une autre route
Une mauvaise journée bien racontée
Devient presque une journée réussie

La vie c’est rarement comme prévu
Et c’est peut-être tout son talent
Je ferme les volets je laisse la vaisselle
Demain fera mieux… ou différemment

Minuit vingt-deux le réveil est prêt
Je promets d’être sérieuse demain
Le chat me regarde sans rien dire
Il connaît déjà très bien la fin

Thoughts collide as I reflect
Searching for what I can't connect
Every chord brings back your smile
But it's just an empty aisle

Time keeps moving yet I'm here
Holding on to what was dear
Words unspoken cloud my view
Moments lost but still feel you

Hey can you hear me?
I'm lost in the sound
Gripping tight can't let go
Of the warmth of you
Will I find my way through?

Every twist brings back your name
Searching for a spark to reclaim
But I breathe I choose to dance
Finding strength in every chance

Letting go of what we've known
Building paths where love has grown
Every heartbeat every sound
New stories waiting to be found

Hey can you hear me?
I'm lost in the sound
Gripping tight can't let go
Of the warmth of you
Will I find my way through?

Slow down…
Don’t wake the fire
It already knows
Who I am

Dust hangs low where the old road bends
Every scar still remembers friends
I don’t ask if tomorrow stays
I just count the smoke instead of days

One cold wind
One tired hand
Trying to build
What never stands

Every prayer arrives
Wearing different clothes
Maybe heaven answers
Maybe nobody knows

Hold your flame
Don’t hide your face
Even broken walls
Can become a place

If the night
Calls out my name
I’ll answer slow
Just the same

Hold your flame…
Don’t let it fade

My father’s coat still smells like rain
Every pocket keeps a different pain
Coins grow heavy
Truth grows light
Some men disappear
Before the fight

I don’t need another miracle
Only one more mile to walk
The silence speaks
Louder than angels
When nobody talks

Hold your flame
Across the storm
Nothing living
Stays untouched or warm

If I fall
Don’t call my name
Just leave the fire…
Exactly where it came

The ashes know my name…
The ashes know…
My name…

I kept every receipt like proof
Bought more space then filled each room
Wore my plans like heavy clothes
Carried things I never chose
One by one I let them go
Found out what I need to know
A steady hand a faithful friend
A little time I do not spend

Nothing missing nothing owed
I can feel my shoulders let go

I am better with less
Better with air on my chest
Better with one true yes
Than a hundred maybes I regret
I was counting every prize
While the good passed by my eyes
Now I know what matters best
I am better better with less

I gave away that tailored coat
Kept one song my father wrote
Took old numbers from my phone
Made this smaller place my own
No gold frame can hold a day
No new car can make love stay
I choose people I choose time
I choose a life that still feels mine

Nothing missing nothing owed
I can feel my shoulders let go

I am better with less
Better with air on my chest
Better with one true yes
Than a hundred maybes I regret
I was counting every prize
While the good passed by my eyes
Now I know what matters best
I am better better with less

Keep the rush keep the race
I found freedom with some space
Every burden I release
Leaves more room for what I need

I am better with less
Better with air on my chest
Better with one true yes
Than a hundred maybes I regret
I was counting every prize
While the good passed by my eyes
Now I know what matters best
I am better better with less

I left at seventeen before the bread was warm
took the blue suitcase nobody claimed
Mother stood polishing the same clean glass
Dad read the paper without turning a page

There was a woman’s name behind the pantry clock
written twice then crossed with a kitchen knife
I asked who she was
They asked why I was still awake

Huh

They said “You’ll understand when you’re older”
So I got older somewhere else

I was gone before the kettle sang
gone before they fixed their tale
Let them blame my age my temper
let them blame the morning train

I was gone gone gone—
they can call it running if they like
I didn’t leave because they hated me
I left because they knew me wrong

Years later a stranger stopped me near the docks
said “You walk exactly like she did”
I laughed and asked “Who?”
She looked at me as though I’d made a joke

Then she handed me a photograph:
my father younger one hand out of frame
and a girl with my uneven teeth
wearing the blue suitcase name tag

Huh Small world
Terrible handwriting

She said “Your mother tried her best”
I said “Which one?”

I was gone before the kettle sang
gone before they fixed their tale
Let them blame my age my temper
let them blame the morning train

I was gone gone gone—
they can call it running if they like
I didn’t leave because they hated me
I left because they knew me wrong

Maybe I was kept
Maybe I was traded
Maybe love gets very polite
when the truth is complicated

I never asked again

That keeps them nervous

I was gone before the kettle sang
gone before they fixed their tale
Let them polish every answer
I know where the story fails

I was gone gone gone—
huh they still insist I’m wild
I didn’t leave because I hated them
I left as someone else’s child

Feel the rhythm rise let’s ignite the night

Energy flowing let’s break the mold
Grooving to the beat it’s a story to be told
With every heartbeat we’re alive and in sync
Let the music guide us let it take us to the brink

Hands up high ready for the flight
This is our moment we’re reaching new heights

Weekend escape let it unfold
Living for today let the good times roll
Laughing and dancing that’s how we sway
Rhythm of now we’ll find our way

Every sound resonates let the night ignite
With friends all around everything feels right
As the evening flows let our stories blend
In this joyful chaos there’s no need to pretend

I’m on the backbeat sneakers on the floor
Phone in my pocket still I want one more
Bass hit hard got the room in a wave
No acting no script just the moves that we save
Skippin’ past stress like it’s paint on the tile
Two-step quick laugh been a while since we smiled
From the booth to the hallway passing that spark
We don’t need a spotlight to light up the dark

Come a little closer share the joy we found
Together we’ll create a magic sound

Weekend escape let it unfold
Living for today let the good times roll
Laughing and dancing that’s how we sway
Rhythm of now we’ll find our way
Weekend escape feel it in your core
This is our moment let the music soar

Let the music soar

Eight-oh-five by Saint Michel
Kola had a cake box under one arm
one red shoe in the other hand
He said “My aunt turns sixty”

I heard “aunt” “cake” and “Saturday”
and supplied the missing cinema myself
At Idris’ barbershop I said
“Maybe the man is getting married”

Idris did not repeat my sentence
He gave it catering witnesses
and a cousin arriving from Marseille
with three phones and firm opinions

By nine-fifteen the taxi rank knew the venue
By ten the tailor had chosen gold
By eleven Auntie Binta had named two children
Kola was still looking for candles

Who told you?
No be me
Who confirmed it?
Nobody

Radio trottoir radio trottoir
one little “maybe” took a motorbike
Dem don carry am go dem don add pepper
by lunch that man was married twice

At one he had married the mayor’s niece
At two he had bought a flat in Lisbon
At three he had left her for a singer
whose name nobody could pronounce

At four the church committee wanted answers
about a generator no one had lost
At five I tried to stop the story
That became “He knows more than he is saying”

At six my mother called me:
“Wear something decent
Apparently you are giving the speech
And bring your own chair”

I found Kola beside the pharmacy
still carrying the same red shoe
The cake was for Aunt Mariam
The shoe had fallen from her shopping bag

He stared at me for seven quiet seconds
then asked who I planned to marry
I laughed exactly once
That was my second mistake

Who told you?
No be me
Who confirmed it?
Nobody

Radio trottoir radio trottoir
one little “maybe” took a motorbike
Dem don carry am go dem don add pepper
by lunch that man was married twice

I went home to hide from the bulletin
My neighbour had prepared rice
My sister said a woman named Celeste
had accepted me on my behalf

Who is Celeste? Nobody knows
She may be a dentist
She may be in Dakar
She may have started at Idris’ second chair

My mother likes her already
She says Celeste sounds responsible
There are now two cakes in the kitchen
Neither one belongs to Kola

Wetin happen?
Ask the barber
Who start am?
No be me
Where proof dey?
It left by taxi
Can you stop am?
You fit try

Radio trottoir radio trottoir
no antenna no editor no brakes
By sunset Kola ran the ministry
by midnight I was cutting a second cake

Radio trottoir radio trottoir
every correction opens another branch
I only said “Maybe he is getting married”
Now Celeste is discussing curtains with my aunt

Kola brought the candles
My mother served the rice
Idris arrived with invitations

No be me

At seven the glass doors learn the street by name
sale tags turn slowly in the conditioned air
someone leaves a blue scarf folded out of place
and the mirror keeps pretending not to stare

A clerk counts coins like small weather
one by one into a paper tray
the fitting rooms exhale together
as the weekday loosens its display

Keep the low lamps on
let the room breathe out
there is music in the ordinary
when the hurry thins around
Soft returns quiet shelves
hands on fabric nothing else
after seven after seven
we move lightly through ourselves

Perfume cards sleep beside the counter
shoes line up like they know the floor
outside taxis change their colors
inside no one needs to want more

A coat on a hanger turns human
for a second in the corner light
I almost ask it where it's going
then I let it keep the night

Keep the low lamps on
let the room breathe out
there is music in the ordinary
when the hurry thins around
Soft returns quiet shelves
hands on fabric nothing else
after seven after seven
we move lightly through ourselves

Not every song should chase the ceiling
not every room should ask for rain
some evenings only need a rhythm
folded neatly with a name

Keep the low lamps on
let the room breathe out
there is music in the ordinary
when the hurry thins around
Soft returns quiet shelves
hands on fabric nothing else
after seven after seven
we move lightly through ourselves

The last receipt curls by the drawer
one small moon on the floor
after seven after seven
nothing asks to be more

I saw your name in the window light
spelled out backwards on a passing bus
city heat on a borrowed bike
and a little bit of trouble looking back at us

You had a laugh like a camera flash
gone too soon but it burned the room
I had a heart with a broken latch
swinging open to a silver moon

We don't need forever to feel electric
just a little voltage under the skin
You move like velvet circuits
turning all my lonely lights on again
If the night tries to sell us silence
we'll answer with a melody and grin
You move like velvet circuits
and I keep coming back to begin

Coffee cold on a rooftop stair
bassline leaking from a taxi door
You tied a ribbon in your midnight hair
said the future isn't hungry anymore

I was counting every exit sign
making maps out of ways to leave
Then you put your hand inside of mine
like a rhythm that remembered me

We don't need forever to feel electric
just a little voltage under the skin
You move like velvet circuits
turning all my lonely lights on again
If the night tries to sell us silence
we'll answer with a melody and grin
You move like velvet circuits
and I keep coming back to begin

All my static turns to motion
all my caution learns to shine
There's a pulse beneath the pavement
keeping perfect crooked time

We don't need forever to feel electric
just a little voltage under the skin
You move like velvet circuits
turning all my lonely lights on again
If the night tries to sell us silence
we'll answer with a melody and grin
You move like velvet circuits
and I keep coming back to begin

Velvet circuits in the crosswalk glow
Velvet circuits and the city knows
Velvet circuits when the morning spins
I keep coming back to begin